Thursday, August 15, 2013

International City Theatre Announces 2014 Season

American
IdolsInternational City
Theatre tackles five
uniquely American stories in 2014

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Aug. 15, 2013) – International
City Theatre producing artistic director caryn
desai [sic] has announced a season of five plays for
2014 that will focus on uniquely American stories.

The season will open on Jan. 24 with the California
premiere of Let’s Misbehave: The
Music and Lyrics of Cole Porter, a
new book musical by Karin Bowersock (conceived
by Bowersock with Patrick Young) built around
the songbook of one of America’s greatest songwriters. In March,
Flyin’ West by Pearl Cleage
illuminates the little-known role of black homesteaders as
pioneers of the American West. June brings a singularly American
family in the very American city of Palm Springs in Jon
Robin Baitz’s Tony-nominated play and finalist for
the Pulitzer Prize, Other Desert Cities.
ICT winds up the season with two true stories: Trying,
based on the relationship between playwright Joanna
McClelland Glass and her employer Francis Biddle,
U.S. Attorney General under President Roosevelt and Chief Judge
at the Nuremburg trials; and Glorious!,
a comedy by Peter Quilter about legendary
New York heiress Florence Foster Jenkins, who used all her
money, charm and unstoppable will-power to become a great
operatic diva – despite having one of the worst singing voices
in history.

“It’s always a challenge to find the right balance when choosing
a season, but I’m very excited about how it’s come together,”
says desai. “I think these five plays create the perfect mix of
thought-provoking substance and entertainment.”

The 2014 schedule is as follows:

Jan. 24-Feb. 16 (previews Jan. 22
and 23):Let’s Misbehave: The Music
and Lyrics of Cole Porter — In the California
premiere of this de-lovely musical conceived by Karin
Bowersock and Patrick Young with book by Bowersock, over 30
classic songs by Cole Porter are woven together to tell the
story of three single friends in 1930s New York who make a pact
to find true love. Their quest is all in good fun until two of
the women, Alice and Dorothy, find they have eyes for the same
man. It’s clever, funny and irresistibly romantic, featuring
songs like “Night and Day,” “Begin the Beguine” and “Anything
Goes” from one of America's most beloved and prolific musical
theater composers.

March 14-April 6 (previews March 12
and 13):Flyin’ West — In Pearl Cleage’s
powerful historical drama set at the turn of the twentieth
century, four African-American women journey west to the
all-black town of Nicodemus, Kansas to seek the freedom promised
by the end of the Civil War — only to be challenged by the harsh
and unforgiving terrain, the social climate of the time and the
men who claim to be with them for love. A contemporary classic
about the strength of black women and their role as pioneers in
the settlement of the American West.

June 6-29 (previews June 4 and 5):Other Desert Cities — Jon Robin
Baitz's funny, explosive and entertaining look at unruly family
politics was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize. The
manicured life of an actor-turned-politician and his impeccable
wife is upset when relatives arrive at their Palm Springs home
for the holidays — including daughter Brooke who’s about to
publish a tell-all memoir.

Aug, 22-Sept. 14 (previews Aug. 20
and 21):Trying — A poignant, poetic and
powerful story, inspired by the real-life experiences of
playwright Joanna McClelland Glass, about the friendship forged
between 81-year-old Francis Biddle, U.S. Attorney General under
President Roosevelt and Chief Judge at the Nuremburg trials; and
a tenacious 25-year-old woman from the Canadian plains – one of
a string of secretaries Biddle's wife has hired to help him put
his affairs in order at the end of his long and illustrious
career.

Oct. 10-Nov. 2 (previews Oct. 8 and 9):Glorious! — Based on a true story,
this hilarious comedy by Peter Quilter invites us into the world
of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York socialite of great
passion, considerable wealth and zero talent who fancied herself
an opera diva. Known as “the first lady of the sliding scale,”
Florence warbled and screeched her way through every performance
to an audience who mostly cried out with laughter. But this
delusional and joyously happy woman paid little attention to her
critics, comfortably surrounded by a circle of devoted friends
who were almost as eccentric as she was.

International City Theatre, located in the Long Beach Performing
Arts Center, is Long Beach’s Resident Professional Theater
Company and recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Circle's
prestigious Margaret Harford Award for “Sustained Excellence in
Theater.”